Monthly Archives: June 2011

To Judge or Assess?

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Scale_of_justice

Image by TaranRampersad via Flickr

I witnessed an old man having trouble with the lock on the back of his trailer.  Now, I’d jump out and help.  But only one key opens the lock.  And only one set of fingers at a time can turn that key.  And what advice can I possibly give to help? “Try to turn it this way.”  Yeah.

I was waiting behind him to pull into my door.  And there was nothing more to do but sit and watch.  After a while he gave up and waddled back to my truck.  Was he going to ask for help?  Maybe he thought I carried a bolt cutter or an oxy acetylene torch.  Nah, that’s not reasonable to expect.

He got near my truck and I jumped out to meet him.  He began to talk and my soul was startled.  Anger and cursing flowed from his mouth like a river of fast moving mud.  I didn’t expect that.  He didn’t look like someone who carried that kind of heart.  But there’s not much a person can tell about another by simply looking at them.

This experience brings me to ponder “judging”.  We are instructed (commanded actually) not to judge.  But what would this world be like if we didn’t access our fellow humans? How would we sort out danger or friendly?  Would we allow the enemies of truth to come live in our house?  Perhaps, but not without making some measure of prevention.  So what is this judging thing?

Judging, as we’re commanded to refrain from, is more likely having to do with settling on a conviction that someone is a certain way and  without redemption.  Perhaps it’s like being a judge at a trial and rendering a sentence on the person in question.  I can see how this would be a source of major damage.  There would be no hope of that person ever overcoming their history.  And such judging would preclude any possibility of change.  So they would be locked out of our sphere of acceptance and hope.

Judging, as is necessary, might be more like assessment.  We consider the other person according to what knowledge of truth we contain.  And we allow for learning on both parts.  I allow myself room to learn something more about the person, while I continue to consider that person with reserved guard.  And I allow that other person room toward possible clarification of their personality.

Refrain from condemning others to the life they now present to you.  But be careful not to allow enemies to get too close.  A curious mix of understanding is needed here.  But doesn’t this just show how small and unwise we really are?  Who can know what is right without the Lord giving understanding?  How many people have been killed, through the ages, because others judged them unfit.  Even the righteous have become victim of this kind of judging.

In the end, perhaps it would be better to identify two words we can use.  We are allowed to access a person’s intend and tendencies.  And do so with understanding that we might well be wrong.  We’re allowed to protect what is precious in our world.   But we’re commanded not to condemn others before we have all the facts.  And even when all the “facts” are presented, can we truly judge them on an eternal scale?   “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

And what would have happened if Jesus had met the “man of the tombs” and simply turned around and left?  After all, wasn’t the entire village afraid of this man?  Wasn’t he a horrible person?  But look what happened when Jesus drove the evil spirits out of him.  The villagers found that man “in his right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus”.  (Mark 5: 1-10)  See also:  http://timglass.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/a-man-from-the-tombs-mark-51-10/

At the same time I’m put in remembrance of the 7 sons of sceva:

13 “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. ”  (Acts 9)

Again, we are told to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

By His Grace.

Lead Them to Life.

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A copy of Barclay’s Amoy translation, opened t...

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I lived my life for the first 30 years with no one to guide me into what is eternally right.  Like most folk, I wandered around doing whatever I pleased.  Some days I would consider righteousness and try to do it.  Other days (most days) I would simply try to gain for myself whatever I could lay my hands on.  Drugs, stealing, lying, and social suicide were my tools of trade.

At 31 I began to read Proverbs.  It’s a very simple-minded approach to the wisdom of God.  It was while reading that little book in the Bible that I began to become familiar with the fact that there is a wisdom beyond what is socially acceptable.  And a couple of years later I had read the entire Bible, found a little church, accepted the Lord, and sat at the feet of a wise elder.

I mention all this to draw attention to something.  Where are those who know the Lord?  Are they making themselves available to someone who is looking for the Lord?  I think of how the world is going insane with sin.  Lies abound.  Greed is the order of the day.  The media holds it’s “church” twenty-four hours a day.  And the world flocks to the “mass” hysteria of waste.  Where are those who know the Lord?

The mainstream church is partially to blame for this lack of mentors in Christ.  They teach a social Gospel lately.  Their Gospel is more in line with an office with a couch.  “If you want victory over this and that, just do this or that.”  Where is the power of God?  Who is dispensing the Glory of God revealed in Jesus?  Where is the Christian who is actually ready to reach out to the sinner with truth, no matter how it will be received?   By “ready” I mean seeking an oportunity.

I present this post for consideration.  I don’t want to offer answers.  I think the questions speak for themselves.  If you’re one of the active lovers of God, then wonderful (and thank you).  If you’re just a pew sitter/sinner, consider what you’ve just read.  Bottom line is: if you don’t like the society you’re living in, remember that shutting up the true Gospel of Christ is key to the problems we’re witnessing today.

By His Grace.

Energy to Continue.

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The divine essence

Image by Guðskraftur via Flickr

Ok.  So you’re in love with God.  Ok.  So you speak about nothing without considering God in the conversation.  Ok.  So you wake only to consider Him first.  You look at your dreams and hope there was something there.  Ok.  So nothing you encounter is absent of the presence of God in your mind.

And you speak, think, eat, act, and blog Jesus.  And, to your amazement, no one seems to notice.  What did you expect?  Did you really think the world would run to you and embrace you as a brother?  Didn’t the Lord say that the world would hate you?  And, I know you’ve noticed, nothing you hold dear finds acceptance in this world.  So what to do?

You want to help people discover the Lord’s sacrifice.  You want to elevate the Lord to a prominent place in every person’s life.  You see the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice as if you were right there in person.  You feel the pain of knowing the fate of the majority.  And you are witness to the destruction of hope the lost are experiencing.  Media hold them tight.  The baubles and trinkets of this world capture their every waking moment.  Sin has such a tight grip on their hearts that they hate even the mention of the God of Life.

Just keep blogging.  Just keep speaking.  Just keep thinking God stuff.  It’s ok.  If no one is interested in what you have to say, then testify to the Angels.  Testify to the Lord Himself.   Blog so that the Lord can read what you type.

We are a people set apart for hatred by the Lord Himself.  We will not find love here.  We find love there.  So go there!  Be a Christian!  Be devoted to the One who made you!  And let the world do what it wishes with what you are becoming.  Who are we to stop their insane race to destruction.  Just keep on doing what you do for the Lord.  Nothing goes un-noticed.  And there is reward in His hand.

 

By His grace.

“Who Respects a Fool?”

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Transferred from en.wikipedia.org http://en.wi...

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The farmer plows his field.  He sets his implements together.  He checks all the connections.  He drives over to the field.  Getting the plow into the field, he lowers the blades.  After putting the tractor in gear, he looks forward and picks a place to use as his guide for a straight line.  Letting out the clutch, he starts another year.

At the end of the row, he lifts the plow and turns around.  He sets his sights on the barn.  And, with plow up, he puts the tractor in “fast” and heads home.  In his mind, he’s done his work.  What?  He’s got 300 acres!  Anyone would think the farmer has flipped his gourd if he really thinks he’s done enough.

Many people have set themselves apart.  They have understood the message of the Gospel and taken it to heart.  Sadly, many who have a confidence in themselves have not understood the message however.  They think, like the farmer, that simply doing the minimum will satisfy the Lord of Righteousness.  But the Christian life is not a one word experience.  It is a life of dedication to growth.  Those who think they can simply attend church or speak nice words are sadly mistaken.  What of sin in your life?  Another row to plow.  What of the movies you watch?  Another row to plow.  What of your prayer life?   Another row to plow.  What of forgiving others?  Another row to plow.  What of reading the Bible on a regular basis?  Another row to plow.  What of learning from God to do everything He tells us to do?  Another row to plow.

57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”  (Luke 9)

 

Non Regret

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dramatic dream

Image by unNickrMe via Flickr

I lay to sleep and dreamt a dream.

Neither long or short ago

Twas a dream of vague import indeed.

I can’t go back or do a deed

No tools of non-regret.

Those days of past are not for me.

To straighten, untie, or uncoil.

What’s done is done, the sage will say.

Yet why then are they real?

I lay upon my bed of sweat, my confidence they steal.

vengeance will not touch those dreams.

They plague a man like gnats.

All hope that’s gained is softly muted.

Regret comes back too often.

I can’t take back what hurt I’ve caused.

I’m broken in the midst.

But isn’t this what He has said?

“I come to heal what’s broken”.

I lay it out and beg for help.

What can I do alone?

They lost, and this because of me.

My portion, now divided.

Will they know their piece?

Will it even appear?

Will my giving help them now?

What’s done is gone for tools to pry.

Only “now” will bend to hands.

What’s to come is promise.

To this I hold, so bold.

For He who cannot lie.

He’s said, “You’re Mine”.

 

By His Grace.

 

And the Forecast is:

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Flag of the United States

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The forecast for America is very bleak.  Many won’t even listen to the news anymore because there’s only bad news.  No matter how they spin reality, the entire nation is on the edge of total ruin.  They talk about hope and change.  They talk about getting a “new start”.  The noise in the conservative camp is that they will jump in the driver’s seat and turn this ole rust bucket around.  But the damage isn’t at the top.

The damage which is causing this nation to plunge into ruin is being caused at all levels.  Obama is only a mirror of the country’s standing before the Most High God.  Look at how you want peace.  But what peace are you securing from the One who created you?

The country will fall into a ruin that cannot be repaired.  How can I say that?  Where is God in the conversations of the American public?  Who is omitting the Lord from every nook and cranny of American life?  Do you really think you can discharge the Lord from life here and not reap the consequences?

The forecast for America is bleak indeed.  But wait!  There’s more!  What is happening to America is happening around the world.  The entire world has jumped on the band wagon which has a banner on it’s sides:  “God is dead or powerless, and of no account in the dealings of man”.  Woe!  Woe to the rebellious!

 

By His Grace.